In the old days we had to get ourselves out of bed and get to class

His players also have the academic advisers' screen names for instant messaging and their cell phone numbers. There are "class checkers" who report to the coaches if someone is missing, and Friedgen said he hired tutors at about $12 an hour.

There are two ways to look at this:

1. The University of Maryland (and many other top tier sports programs) are helping student-athletes balance the demands put on them by needing to in the classroom and on the field. It is a win for the program keeping the student eligible and for the student they are pushed to keeping up with their studies.

2. These young people are being given so much “support” that they may not have to struggle, fail, and take stock in how they need to mature and grow to avoid future failure. In short personal responsibility growth skills atrophy because the lack of stress put upon them—much like building any other muscle.

There may be a connection in the poor personal conduct decisions made by players in football at both the college and professional levels with the lack of personal management skills. Think about how many times that the cannot miss blue chip recruit washes out at college. Could it be that he was never challenge enough in a high school game to deal with setbacks? When that player misbehaves and the issue is smoothed over, have key learning opportunities been missed (because he’s a great talent on the field)?

“Pain is weakness leaving the body,” the poster on the weight room wall tells us. The pain that goes with being called to account for personal behavior is another form of weakness that the student athelete needs to exercise.

Spit and Baling Wire

The U.S. Service Academies at West Point and Annapolis are among the finest schools in the nation and while they both play D1 college football the demands of the schools hamper the them in selecting players--the minimum SAT score just does not cut it. Because of this factor the Army-Navy game is among the greatest rivalries in college football. No the players aren't the elite on any ones recruiting boards but they are evenly matched with intelligent disciplined players.

Lately it has leaked out that the Big East is interested in an alliance with the two schools to join the conference as 1/1A for football only. The motivation is simply that the addition of the 12th game to the schedule means that Big East schools must find five OOC games in addition to the seven (an odd number which causes a problem when it its your year to only have three conference games at home). The Army/Navy combo would mean that the AD's would only need to fill four slots each year and assure a minimum of four home games with the associated dollars. The two schools are very much in the geography footprint of the conference which could make for some nice away game road trips and more importantly the teams have a good fan support.\

Navy 2007
8-31-07 at Temple (Fri.) Navy at Temple
9-7-07 at Rutgers (Fri.) Navy at Rutgers
9-15-07 BALL STATE Ball State at Navy
9-22-07 DUKE at Navy
9-29-07 AIR FORCE at Navy
10-10-07 at Pittsburgh (Wed.) Navy
10-20-07 WAKE FOREST
10-27-07 DELAWARE
11-3-07 at Notre Dame
11-10-07 at North Texas
11-17-07 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
12-1-07 vs. Army @Baltimore, MD

Army 2007
9-1-07 at Akron @Cleveland, OH
9-8-07 RHODE ISLAND
9-15-07 at Wake Forest
9-22-07 at Boston College
9-29-07 TEMPLE
10-6-07 TULANE
10-13-07 at Central Michigan
10-20-07 at Georgia Tech
11-3-07 at Air Force
11-9-07 RUTGERS
11-17-07 TULSA
12-1-07 vs. Navy @Baltimore, MD

The problem here is trying to figure out what Army and Navy get out of the deal. They too may be feeling the pressure of filling twelve games but that's not a money issue. Either of these teams on your schools schedule comes the understand that they are not powerhouse but are respectable opponents from a good background the old money type. Navy for one does not need the money as they are better off financially then any the BE members (Army and Notre Dame are the big paydays). Army may still gun shy with the bad relationship they recently got out of with Conference USA. An association with a BCS conference only makes the road to a bowl game that much more difficult as games against the likes of Rutgers, West Virginia, Louisville, and South Florida during the upcoming season would be very challenging for these teams. They both currently four or five BCS schools but those are chosen rather than imposed.

If the parties move ahead with this idea it should be on a trial basis of two or four seasons as Army and Navy may trier of the routine and the Big East will need a stronger permanent member.

(Gram) Pa Joe Gets Tough

Even if he looks like a used car salesman you must take your hat off the the punishment Joe Paterno has for his football team after the latest off field incident. That punishment is for all the players too clean up Beaver Stadium after home games. Yes, clean up the stadium and yes that is all the players. Hopefully this will include cleaning the restrooms which can be a humbling experience. The purpose here is to make the team functions as a group with both the rewards that come from being a member but the cost when a part of that team makes a poor choice in behavior. This is akin to that old coach's tactic of making the whole team run lap fro the transgressions of the few.

It will be interesting to see the reactions of the players and down the road the impact on recruiting. How will that blue chipper react to the prospect of team punishment? Will he see the wisdom or go looking for a better deal down the road? Will that "stage parent" be mature enough to recognize the life lesson being taught? Sadly, this action will deter several players. Yet, Joe being a living god has the latitude to thumb his nose at the conventional.

Not As Simple As It Appears

Recently the Baltimore sports news reported that Antonio Logan-El is transferring for Penn State to a local D1AA school Towson University. Mr. Logan-El made a name for himself by having a Signing Day press conference where he left the Maryland Terps jilted at the altar as he declared is intent to attend Penn State. The knee jerk reaction is to quietly chuckle at the downfall of a player that makes his choice of colleges to attend into a circus. However, after reading Mark Viera telling of the whole story one has more compassion for the pressures put upon a young man.

What is normal in Norman? or OU are OK

How many hours should a college student work? Zero is a bad answer! Those kids have too much time on their hands and should either be doing volunteer work or scoring some poacket change. Big Red Sports/Imports that employed Rhett Bomar would be my choice as they are very generous to college students and you do not need to be the star a walk on, like Jermaine Hardisoncan, earn himself about $459 a week for 12 weeks during the spring a early summerof 2006(eqauls $23898/year) for working 43 hours per week. Jermaine must have been a very busy young man with classes, work, and football. Unfortunately he did not return to University of Oklahoma for the fall semester. Maybe he was just too worn out.

All Those Great Expectations

Pictured here is Tara a dog adopted from the local animal shelter by people that had never owned a dog before and knew next to nothing about caring for one. She's a mutt and as Private Winger teaches us in Stripes, "There's nothing more loyal than a mutt" She is well behaved and loving dog with two major faults 1) she sheds well beyond what would be expected from a 20 pound dog and 2) an intruder would be welcomed as a friend. The adoption was a crapshoot but it turned out well.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a similar message in a recent article about the much hyped college football signing day. We have all had the reverse of the above story where the new employee that looks great on paper and is impressive in the interview turns into a mistake you wished would go away or just does not live up to expectations.

Now when entering the world of college recruiting remember that you are looking at the the 17 year old male a being with the capacity for greatness plague with the problem of sometimes acting in totally irrational ways. All that have completed the trial that is human adolescence needs remember the stupid things you did or thought during this period of your life. We also need to consider the impact that the attention given these players can have on their attitude where they start to think they really are that important.

The fault however is not with these young men they are pawns in the big picture. As Mr. Smizik points out it is difficult to fairly and accurately evaluate high school talent and those that consume (read as: pay for) need to review the product they are buying because its demonstrated poor performance and the unintended consequences on the players. Saying that is like piddling in the oceans and will not change the primal desire to be able to claim a rankings in the cold of February.

Life is just a game of chance
I think somebody said so
Sometimes you get a hula hoop
Sometimes you get an Edsel

Sometime you get a really great dog or even a great football player

WWKMRF

Who Would Karl Marx Root For? The left side of the political spectrum has been quiet too long. With the rise of the conservatives in American politics and the defeat the the Soviet Union we have been deprived of the amusing view of their world as only a Commie Pinko can create. Not that the Religious Righty has not has supplied some interesting diversions, but the left always supplies an interesting change of pace.

There is little on nothing new or interesting in College football players exploited by universities which is disappointing. They point out the truck loads of money being brought in by big time college football and the players take on the roll of the exploited workers at the bottom of the system. What the Pinkos here and other that advocate for the payment of players fail to understand is the reward that the players feel for the opportunity to be on the field. Are they being exploited if they would play for nothing? What about the walk on?

The goal for all programs is 100% graduation with all players leaving with an education the pros as "a if it happens..." Football coaching staffs commit considerable resources to academic support in a effort to help him graduate and to protect the investment they have made in a player. For some the golden payday of the NFL comes true and if played correctly the expected value of an education is eclipsed by the signing bonus. Unfortunately, those are few and it is difficult tell a 19 year old that that may not come when people have been pumping him up for the past five years (consider how top recruits are treated).

The left instead of complaining about the lack of pay for players should work to encourage these young men to invest in their own personal intellectual capital. But the left has never been about personal accountability, they want to complain about the outcome not being as expected with little questioning of the individual's actions. As stated before in the blog the bachelors degree is the payoff for anyone in college and for the vast majority of players the REAL pay.